“Leave it to me, if you please, my dear prince,” said the tutor; “there must be some cause for this strange conduct.” Then, turning to the boy, he said, “Pray tell us what is the reason you will not show us that nest, and then we will go away and leave you in peace. Your behaviour seems very rude and strange; but if you have any good reason for it, do let us know it.”
“Hum!” said the boy; “that I can easily do. Michel tends goats there over the mountains. He first showed me the nest, and I promised him that I never would tell anybody where it was.”
“This is quite another thing,” said the tutor. He was much pleased with the honesty of the boy; but wished to put it to further proof. He took a piece of gold from his purse, and said—
“See here! this piece of gold shall be yours, if you will show us the way to the nest. You need not tell Michel that you have done it, and then he will know nothing about it.”
“Eh! thank you all the same,” said the boy. “Then I should be a false rogue, and that will I not be. Michel might know it or not. What would it help me, if the whole world knew nothing about it, if God in heaven and myself knew that I was a base, lying fellow? Fie!”
“Perhaps you do not know how much this piece of gold is worth,” said the tutor. “If you should change it into coppers, you could not put them all into your straw hat, even if you should heap them up.”
“Is that true?” said the boy, as he looked anxiously at the piece of gold. “Oh, how glad my poor old father would be, if I could earn so much!” He looked thoughtful a moment, and then cried out, “No—take it away!” Then, lowering his voice, he said, “The gentleman must forgive. He makes me think of the bad spirit in the wilderness, when he said, ‘all this will I give thee.’ Short and good, I gave Michel my hand on it, that I would not show the nest to any one. A promise is a promise, and herewith fare well.”
He turned, and would have gone away, but the prince’s huntsman, who stood near and listened to what passed, came up, and clapped him on the shoulder, said, in a deep bass voice, “Ill-mannered booby! is this the way you treat the prince, who is to be our king? Do you show more respect to the rude goat-herd over the mountains, than to him? Show the bird’s nest, quick, or I will hew a wing out of your body.” As he said this he drew his hanger.
The poor boy turned pale, and with a trembling voice cried out, “Oh, pardon! I pray for pardon!”
“Show the nest, booby,” cried the hunter, “or I will hew!”